Only 15% of domestic employers consider it acceptable to further increase the minimum in the current crisis. Even among them, most make it conditional on a reduction in taxes and parafiscal levies. The fewest are those who estimate that more decent salaries would have a positive effect on business even in a crisis.
In Serbia, only 15% of domestic employers have a positive attitude towards a further increase in the minimum wage, according to the latest survey of the Union of Employers of Serbia, conducted in July this year.
This is a drastic drop compared to the results of last year’s survey in the same period, when 46% of employers in our country had a positive attitude on this issue.
At the same time, even those 15% of respondents who expressed a positive attitude towards the growth of the minimum, estimate that it would be justified only under certain conditions. These are significant reductions in taxes and contributions, increases in the non-taxable portion of earnings, and reductions in fiscal and parafiscal liabilities.
The most positive employers in Belgrade and those who work in services
Representatives of 133 business entities, which employ a total of 16,134 workers and 1,935 entrepreneurs with about 5,800 employees, participated in the survey of the Union of Employers.
Most respondents who would accept the growth of the minimum business operate in the small business sector, while representatives of micro-enterprises are mostly against, as well as all surveyed entrepreneurs.
According to the regions, the least willing to accept further growth of the minimum wage are employers in Vojvodina, while in Belgrade most businessmen believe that there is a possibility for wage growth, but only 12 of them expressed such an attitude.
Observing the obtained answers according to the activity, in a positive attitude towards the growth of the minimum, the services are in the lead, while the employers who are engaged in production, tourism and catering are against the largest percentage.
The survival of the firm and the survival of the employees
Such results are expected, having in mind the consequences for the Serbian economy caused by the crisis caused by the corona, the research estimates. The surveyed employers pointed to the fact that they are struggling to survive in the market and that they barely manage to keep their current employment in a situation when their turnover is drastically declining and costs are rising.
Thus, the owner of a textile company with 400 employees predicts that the worst consequences of the health and economic crisis in the world and in our country will only show. The company therefore expects a decline in turnover and volume of work at the end of this year and throughout the next year.
On the other hand, the director of a small company from Simanovac has a different attitude. In his opinion, despite the current disturbances due to the pandemic, the economic situation in Serbia has become more stable in recent years, including a higher degree of collection of receivables. That is why he believes that salaries should be “at a more decent level, and an increase in the minimum wage would mean especially for workers in the lowest paid occupations.”
Costs high and no pandemic
However, such attitudes are in a huge minority, the research shows, while the largest number of respondents point out that business costs have been high in Serbia for years, especially those related to taxes and contributions to earnings.
Therefore, a significant increase in the minimum price of labor would be mostly influenced by the reduction of taxes and contributions to wages, but in the current crisis, the reduction of fiscal and parafiscal levies would be of great importance.
The research reminds that the findings of the survey of the Union of Employers on the consequences of the pandemic, which was conducted in April this year, also speak about how serious the situation in the economy is. The results showed that only 6% of companies in Serbia suffered a weaker financial blow, while all the others already had significant or extremely large business consequences, BiF reports.
